It is said that Serra had creatures like Humans and Angels carry a growing child 
in their bellies as a way of bringing the two generations closer together. It is 
considered that this would be needed so that society would continue to thrive, 
and that this first act of love is what puts good in all of our souls. It is also 
spoken that the immense pain suffered during child birth is Serra's way of making 
the parent so much closer to the child than the child is to it. This is needed so 
that the mother will protect it even at the cost of her own life. Right now I 
could not imagine being any closer to little Blaze as I was when I first held her 
in my arms. To see her face brought about in me a feeling that I have done the 
greatest thing I could ever do, and that I was now needed by somebody. 

It was a cold night, or at least I think it was night, that I went into labor. 
Mar and I were having a small conversation. It was more like a relief from of my 
fears that I wouldn't be a good mother. She, being the kind person that she was, 
assured me that I would do fine and that feeling this way is normal. I trust her, 
probably more than I trust anyone else in the mountain. That is part of the 
reason why I am considering her to be the goddess-mother to my Blaze, but part of 
me says she just wouldn't go for it. Well anyway back to the story. During the 
conversation as I was about to ask her, I felt a jolt in my belly. It was 
followed soon after be a crampish feeling and then a wet feeling. I did the only 
thing that came to mind, I panicked! All I could do was cry "Oh no...this can't 
be good. I think something's wrong!" Mar asked me what was wrong, I just stared 
at her and told her what I had felt. Mar attempted to sooth me and told me to 
breath and explain agian, which I did. As if on cue I felt another jolt, this one 
full of pain. Mar asked for that blue cloth she had given me, and I handed it 
over quickly before I felt more pain. I lost track of time at this point, the 
atmosphere seemed to warrant a feeling of forever and never at once. Mar was 
looking around for things, I had no clue what was going on, I just knew it hurt 
and the pain was only increasing with time. Mar said something to me about deep 
breathing and pushing. I had no clue what she meant, I thought she went nuts or 
something. She just repeated herself, louder than before. It was then that she 
lifted the base of my dress, mubleing something about needing some water, and 
looked me in the face with a serious expersion. I knew what was going at that 
second, I was giving birth. 

It's kinda strange doing something like this for your first time, you have no 
clue what to do or what's going on, all you know is that everybody around you 
seems to know more than you. It was also the most helpless I felt in my life. I 
didn't know what was happening or when it was happening, I just knew it was 
happening because Mar told me. I could tell that tears were streaming down my 
face at one point only because I could feel water on my face. I could tell Mar 
was nervous only because she wouldn't stop mumbling. Though I couldn't really 
tell, all I was sure of was I felt pain. Sharp stabbing pain, a pain you wouldn't 
wish on your worst enemy. Mar tried to calm me, and I could tell there were a few 
others there, but voices were quickly becoming a blur in my mind. I began to 
breath heavily as Mar told me to, and pushing seemed to come natural. It all felt 
like I was trying to expel something from my body, something that despratly 
wanted to stay in the warm confines of my womb. I could feel it resisting, trying 
to push back and stay in. I couldn't let it, it wasn't good for it. The voices 
about me seemed to be mocking me, at least a few of them. I now know it was only 
because of the pain and they meant the best, but I could remember screaming at 
somebody, I think it was Donnie. "Why don't you try to squeeze a Watermelon 
through yours!" I remeber yelling. I'm not sure who exactly it was, I could tell 
it sent him from the room. I could also barely remembering insulting a few more 
of my friends while in the torment of child birth, but they seemed to understand 
what I was going through. At some point somebody held my hand and told me 
everything will be fine, at another somebody but a hand on my forehead and said 
"There, there child. You'll be fine." I never knew who they were but if I ever 
found out I would probably thank them for being there with me. It went smoothly, 
as far as I could figure, until near the end. That's when I felt it, an evermore 
piercing pain in my hips, followed by a dull cracking sound. I screamed and 
blacked out from the torture. That's when I knew she was human. Whenever an angel 
gives birth to a human they break their hip, their hollow bones can't take the 
resistance that the less flexible human skeletons give. I honestly thought I was 
going to die and my child would die with me. 

I eventually awoke, my vision clouded and the pain was lessened. I looked around 
me to see Mar sitting next to me holding a wrapped bundle and several of my 
friends around me and Mar. "You had us worried," Mar said as she smiled at me and 
carefully handed me the bundle, "Be gentle, she's still very fragile. Oh and 
thank Mewling for repairing your hip, if she hadn't we might have lost you." 

I merely nodded, the energy all but drained from my system. I just sat there and 
held you like I am doing now. *Serena moves a bit of cloth out of the way of her 
child's face. She smiled at it as it slept in her arms wrapped in the blue cloth* 
Sleep well Blaze, you and I have an entire life together so there is no rush on 
anything.